Behind on Bitcoin Drama? A (Short) History of Scaling
Feeling lost in the bitcoin scaling discussion? CoinDesk provides a selection of must-read content to quickly bring you up to speed.

No one said consensus would be easy.
The conversation on how to best upgrade the bitcoin network to accommodate a greater transaction capacity has been a long one, dating back to the earliestĀ forums and message boards. However, it wasn't until 2014 that the idea that bitcoin's technology may need to adapt to increasing usage entered the industry spotlight.
Since then, there's been a heated, seemingly non-stop debate that, at best, has showcased the depth and creativity of the developers working on the open-source project, and at worst, has shown the damage a 24-hour online commentary can have on scientific pursuits.
Now, as the scaling debate heads to what could be a notable milestone, CoinDesk looks back at the major stories that have shaped the narrative.
For a crash course, take a tour of 19 stories we believe are essential reading to get up to speed. For news and up-to-date information, check out our full selection of guides here.
Bitcoin image via Shutterstock
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Protocol Research: GoPlus Security

What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
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Coinbase Sees Crypto Recovery Ahead as Liquidity Improves and Fed Rate Cut Odds Climb

The crypto exchange also took note of a so-called AI bubble that continues to go strong and a weaker U.S. dollar.
What to know:
- Coinbase Institutional is seeing a potential December recovery in crypto, citing improving liquidity and a shift in macroeconomic conditions that could favor risk assets like bitcoin.
- The firm's optimism is driven by rising odds of Federal Reserve rate cuts, with markets pricing in a 93% chance easing next week, and improving liquidity conditions.
- Several recent institutional developments, including Vanguard's crypto ETF policy reversal and Bank of America's greenlighting of crypto allocations, have contributed to bitcoin's rebound from recent lows.











